In 2011, the Varappuzha police had busted a sex racket run by Shobha John. Six years later, the Additional Sessions Court in Ernakulam, Kerala, has found the main accused and eighth accused Jayarajan Nair, an ex-service man, guilty on August 21 with regard to the sexual abuse of a minor girl.
The court sentenced Shobha to 18 years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh, while Jayarajan gets 11 year rigorous punishment.
However, due to lack of evidence, the court has acquitted five others, including the minor's sister Pushpavathy and her husband Anil, in connection with the case.
Varappuzha Sex racket busted
In 2011, while rescuing a 16-year-old girl from a brothel, the investigators busted the Varappuzha sex racket. Shobha, the head of the bordello is said to have bought the minor girl from her parents for an amount of Rs 1 lakh. She was reportedly exploited by over 200 people in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The police had then registered more than 26 cases and as many as 72 were arrested. Though the investigators had filed the charge-sheet in 2012, the trial started only in October 2016.
The other accused in the sex racket case include Vinod Kumar from Kannur, Shine Thomas from Bengaluru, Arun alias Denis from Wayanad, Kalamassery-native Sunil Joy, Muhammad Basheer from Kasargod, Tahira from Mancherry, Pathanamthitta-based Scaria, Shijil from Pathanmthitta and Madurai-natives Ashok and Goutham.
